


Arigatou

by gurajiorasu



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-27
Updated: 2014-11-27
Packaged: 2018-02-27 05:14:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2680427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gurajiorasu/pseuds/gurajiorasu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ohno laughed, “I’m thirty four, not fourteen.”<br/>The number left a heavy feeling on his tongue. It’s not like he hated it. It just bothered him, he just realized.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Arigatou

It’s late, but Ohno insisted to go back to his parent’s house. It’s been a while since the last time he came home, so he felt that it’s just the right thing to do. Job would make him leave the house again later that day but right then, he just wanted to be home.

It was unclear why. It was like he was trying to escape from something that he didn’t know what. He didn’t think much about it, though. He just felt strange and he knew home would make everything felt right again.

When he arrived, the lights were already off. He didn’t tell anyone he would come and it was already 2 AM, so it was expected that no one was awake.

He shuffled through the keys and found the right one. He opened the door quietly, didn’t want to wake anybody. First step inside and he felt lighter already.

“Tadaima,” he whispered while changing his shoes and proceeded to his old room. On the way, he opted to stop in front of the fridge. Fridge at his parent’s house was always more tempting than the almost-always-empty one that he had in his own place.

As he was taking tofu, someone startled him.

“Who’s there?!”

It was his mom.

“It’s me. Satoshi,” he answered after recovering from the mild shock.

“Toshi?” the mother dashed to the kitchen and turned on the lamp, “Gosh, I thought there was an intruder. Why are you here?”

“Am I not welcomed anymore?” Ohno asked jokingly while eating his tofu.

“You know it’s not what I meant,” the mother started to prepare something more decent to eat, “If you told me sooner, I’d prepare something for you. Now I don’t have anything.”

“No, no, Mom. It’s alright,” Ohno stopped his mom, “I’ll go to sleep after this tofu.”

“Are you sure? Have you had dinner? You should eat properly, son.”

“I’ve had my dinner, Mom, don’t worry,” Ohno assured. He finished his tofu and washed his hands to make a point. As much as he loved his mother’s cooking, he didn’t want to bother the lady at shit hour in the morning.

The mother stopped trying to make anything and turned to Ohno, “How long will you stay? Don’t you have an event to attend to today?”

Ohno nodded. He felt warm knowing that his mother noticed his schedule, “Yeah, I’ll leave again after lunch, I guess.”

“We can properly celebrate your birthday on lunch then,” the mother beamed.

Ohno giggled dryly. A certain uneasy feeling swarmed in his chest. Probably this was what he was trying to escape from, “No, Mom, it’s not necessary.”

“Hmmm~,” his mother hummed, “It is. It’s not every day that you’re here anyway so I’ll cook something good.”

It was always nice to celebrate something but now he felt really reluctant to, “You really don’t need to, Mom. I just want to spend some time here, that’s all.”

The mother giggled and gave up faster than she usually would, “Okay, okay.”  
She inhaled then exhaled a deep breath, “Well, you should sleep. It’s late,” then, with a hint of playful tease, she added, “Do you want me to tuck you in?”

Ohno laughed, “I’m thirty four, not fourteen.”  
The number left a heavy feeling on his tongue. It’s not like he hated it. It just bothered him, he just realized.

His mother laughed along, “Thirty four or not you will always be my little Satoshi.”  
She tapped her son’s shoulder affectionately, “Alright. Hush hush, now. Go to your room and sleep.”

“Hai, hai, Ma’am,” Ohno gave a little salute and kissed his mother’s cheek before strolling to his room.

Once he’s in his room, right before he climbed on his bed, Ohno nodded to himself.  
He was right. Home was the right place for him at that moment. Home swept away any uneasy feeling. Home gave him calmness that he didn’t have in the past few days.

Because there, he could never feel _old_.

*******

Ohno slept a little bit longer than usual. When he walked out from his room, the sun was already high up in the sky and his mother was already busy in the kitchen. It gave out nostalgic feeling; almost identical like when he was still live there - when he was still considerably _young_.

Judged by the amount and quality of food that his mother was preparing, Ohno took his own conclusion, “I’ve told you there’s no need to celebrate anything, Mom.”

His mother chuckled, “It’s not for you, silly.”

Ohno was taken aback by the answer but he didn’t give a second thought about it. He sat there, watching his mother did her job.  
While doing so, he finally let his mind swam freely to that one subject that he had ignored but continuously made him uneasy.

He didn’t really like the fact that thirty four was not a small number, because what he does for a living - the only thing that he knew really well and had been doing for as long as he could remember - wasn’t famous for its friendliness to _old_ people. Entertainment industry prefers _young_ person and despite the reality that Ohno still felt like one, the number proved otherwise.  
He used to think that a man over thirty could not be considered young anymore, now he’s well over thirty. He had to accept that, but he was really reluctant to.

At the same time, Ohno was also bothered with something else. Because thirty four was thirty four and age doesn’t go backwards, Ohno was also bothered by the fact that he was not like any other thirty four years old he knew.

All in all, he didn’t want to be considered as thirty four, but he was already troubled that he didn’t really fit the age.  It was all confusing and unpleasant, but it’s not something that Ohno had put effort to think about.  
Until now.

“Don’t you want to ask me, Mom?” after a while, he finally spoke up.

“About what?”

“I don’t know.. Marriage, children, stuff like that. You see, I’m already thirty four, isn’t it the right time for you to ask me about it all?”

The mother stopped her movement for a second and looked up to her son. She looked like she was considering something, then she asked, “Do you want me to ask you those questions?”

It’s Ohno’s turn to consider before answering. Did he want it? He didn’t know. But if she asked, he knew he wouldn’t have any proper answer.  
“No, I guess.. I- I don’t know.”

“Then, I won’t ask,” his mother said with a smile, “Besides, I know your condition. What’s with the agency and all. I know you’ve struggled hard to be at your place now, along with your friends. So I won’t ask things like that. No. Except, if you’re the one who brings up the subject. Then, I’d be glad to discuss it.”

“Hmm,” Ohno let out a low and trailing hum.

The mother looked up again and now she stopped everything. She wiped his hands on her apron and walked towards Ohno.  
“Okay, son. You are troubled,” she declared, “What is it? Tell me.”

Ohno looked down, didn’t really know what to say. He struggled with fractions of hazy thoughts in his head, grasping and collecting them. He had never really paid attention on these little bugging thoughts before, so it’s not easy to spell it out.

“It’s just.. I feel like.. I don’t know, like I have nothing, maybe? Compared to most of my friends who’s at the same age as me, I mean. Like.. like they’re mature, responsible men, while I am just.. well.. the same boy who went to Hawaii to sing and dance years ago,” He tried to put what he felt to words and he thought like he was failing. It’s not like he envied his friends, no. He didn’t really think he wanted marriage right then or something. He just felt not right. Not fitted.

Then, he tried again to convey it more precisely, “I feel.. inappropriate? Out of place? Like I’m not acting my age?”

The mother just stared at her son for a while. Then, she chuckled.

Ohno frowned. He was spilling his heart out and his mother chuckled instead.

“Oh, dear,” the mother patted Ohno’s cheek before resuming back to her kitchen utensils, “Since when do you care about what people might think? No, dear, you’re not inappropriate or out of place. And, listen this carefully, not marrying anyone _yet_ doesn’t mean that you’re less responsible than those married men, okay?”

Ohno shrugged, “I.. don’t know.”

“You will,” the mother smiled.

Ohno was trying to figure out what the meaning behind his mother’s words was when a car stopped in front of the house. Followed by another car. And another car.  
Three cars in total.

Ohno dashed outside and saw no other but Sho’s, Aiba’s, and Nino’s car were being parked outside. He got out to the porch. He was sure he didn’t tell anyone that he was there, so this was really unexpected.

Nino, who got out from his car first, looked at Ohno and immediately asked, “What are you doing here?”

“That’s my line! This is _my_ parent’s house, what are _you_ doing here?” Ohno replied, confused.

The second car was absolutely Aiba’s and from Sho’s car, Jun and Sho came out. The four guests gathered and walked together towards the door.

“Riida?” Aiba looked pretty much surprised with Ohno’s presence.

“What are you-”

“Hey, boys!” Ohno turned around and found his mother smiling and waving to his band-mates.

Nino shoved Ohno aside like he was just a statue that was in the way and walked straight towards the mother, “Okaa san! Sorry for intruding.”

Aiba, Jun, and Sho followed Nino closely from behind. Jun gave a bouquet of flower and Aiba gave a bag full of food from his house. They were soon drowned in chatter and laughter that Ohno couldn’t really figure out what.

Ohno stomped towards them, irritated. He was in the middle of deep thoughts and suddenly uninvited guests barged in on their own accords. He was about to snap when Sho started talking.

“We can’t be long here because we have to get going and prepare for the show, but we want to say something,” Sho looked around to his friends then nodded.

All four of them, to Ohno’s surprise, bowed to his mom. All of them chanted in sync, “Thank you, Okaa san.”

“Thanks for giving birth to our sleepy leader,” Sho continued.

Ohno suspected that he misheard it, but then Jun added, “And for raising him to be the good man he is now.”

Ohno’s lips twitched a bit. He didn’t see any of these coming. His heart paced up and he felt his cheeks got warm.

“And for supporting him and thus supporting us when we’re down,” Aiba grinned.

Ohno looked down to his feet, shuffling mildly as he was flushed.

“And for letting him to lead us up until now,” Nino said.

Once again, they bowed and said together, “Really, thank you.”

Ohno was figuring out what to do and what to feel while his mother seemed to be really touched by the gesture.  
She stepped forward, brushing the nearest cheek with her fingers, “You don’t have to-”

“We have to,” Sho insisted, “He leads us and unites us, he gave us the subtle push when we needed it and without it we wouldn’t be here like this right now. Arashi wouldn’t be Arashi without that man, and without you that man wouldn’t be here at all. He’s such a good leader and we know it is all because of you. So really, thank you.”

Ohno looked up and he felt the urge to hug and scold his band-mates at the same time, but his organs were failing to function. The feelings were too overwhelming.  
He felt special.

The mother smiled wide then said, “You’re welcome.”

Then silence. It was all too sweet and too meaningful that it left a lingering awkward feeling that no one dared to break.

Ohno wanted to say something in return, but they were not talking to him; they were talking _about_ him in a manner that he didn’t know how to handle. If they mocked him, he would know how to react. But this? This was something that made Ohno lost.

Ohno just darted his eyes here and there, searching for words to utter. The words wouldn’t come that easily, of course, and everyone knew someone needed to rescue the leader out of his helplessness.

“And.. uh.. thank you for the meal also?” Aiba peeked to the dining table, caressing his belly while doing so.

There. The cue for everyone to stop being so mellow.

Nino slapped Aiba’s head pretty hard, “Gosh, Masaki, don’t embarrass us!”

“But it’s for us! Right, Kaa san?” Aiba rubbed his head and everyone was laughing.

“Yes, right, it’s for you, boys. Come on, let’s eat.”

There was a short exchange of glances between the four and then they raced to the table, they didn’t seem to care that Ohno was still gaping somewhere in the corner. They _did_ care, of course, they just knew that it’s the best to leave him be for now.

The mother looked at her son and chuckled fondly. She patted Ohno’s back several times and said, “That’s not what I would get if I have an irresponsible son.”

Ohno looked up and finally he released the breath that he didn’t realize he was holding. It felt like a huge burden had been lifted up from his shoulders.

Ohno was pushed to join to the dining table and amusing scenery welcomed him.  
Four grown up men, all suited nicely and sleekly, made a fuss on the table over who would have the karaage and whatnot. Chopsticks were waved and swung, janken was initiated, whining voices were emitted.  
So much for some men that could be considered as _old_.

Ohno smiled. He genuinely smiled.

Thirty four was just thirty four, numbers were just numbers, he reminded himself.  
With Arashi, he would always be young. With Arashi, he would never be out of place.

With Arashi, everything’s always alright.

And that was all that matters.


End file.
